have gotten the job if her name was clinton? >> did you say that about ivanka in las vegas? david: crony cap tail -- capitalism. david: we had a lot of agreement gang. that is it for "bulls & bears." see you next time. melissa: president trump claiming soleimani was a monster but he is not anymore. he claimed that the it saved a lot of lives. people killed in a stampede as tens of thousands of iranians turned out more than 200 others were injured. to the battle of border funding. attorney general bill barr, rather he hadly preparing to head to mexico to talk of security. in the wake of another shocking episode south of the border.

an assassin asking another criminal with him to film him committing a murder in broad daylight. we're asking the veterans affairs secretary for an update providing faster and better care for our vets. we have details. we'll ask him about a government watchdog report, alleging that the va spent billions of dollars on new medical facilities with little budget oversight. i'm melissa francis in tonight for mcdonald. "the evening edit" starts right now. ♪. melissa: get to edward lawrence in washington with the latest developments there. edward? reporter: defense secretary mark esper expects iran to retaliate. he would like a diplomatic solution but has prepared targets just in case. president donald trump keeping pressure on iran but backing off that those targets will include

cultural sites. listen. >> they're allowed to kill our people. they're allowed to maim our people. they're allowed to blow up everything that we have and there is nothing that stops them and we are, according to a various laws supposed to be very careful with their cultural heritage. you know what? if that is the law, i like to obey the law. think of it, they kill our people. they blow up the people. we have to be very gentle with their cultural institutions. reporter: still the president says he already picked out target to hit if iran lashes out violently and will strike back if america is treated badly. the defense secretary says the killing of of qassem soleimani was to prevent more loss of life because he was planning attacks against americans. >> i would say days for sure. we have not ones escalated this past 40 years, certainly past self months. it has been iran through its

proxies consistently escalated this in terms of the size, scale, scope of their attacks. we reached a point where we had to act in self-defense. reporter: also today in washington another step towards ratifying usmca. senate finance committee voted to send the deal on to the full senate. there may be a few other committees want to look at it. the senate majority leader could set a vote. however the impeachment trial takes priority over any votes under the constitution. senator mitch mcconnell says he will wait on usmca till after that trial is done. so now we could be looking at full ratification in the u.s. by february. melissa? melissa: we need it. edward lawrence. thank you so much for that. meantime iran at least 56 people were crushed to death in a stampede that broke out during the funeral procession for general soleimani as tens of thousands packed the street for the possession. it happened in his hometown.

200 more were injured. his burial was delayed for several hours. now a top iranian official announced iran is considering 13 so-called revenge scenarios, vowing the weakest option will create a historic nightmare for americans. on the phone, republican congressman mark green of the homeland security committee. he is also a former u.s. army officer and he was part of the mission to capture saddam hussein. sir, so glad you could join us tonight because you're uniquely qualified to speak to us in a way so many out there sort of spouting off what is going on are not qualified. you were part of the mission as we said. you interviewed saddam for six hours on the night of his capture. what is your take on whether we are safer or we created more danger for americans and our troops abroad? >> well, thanks, melissa, for having me on the show. i apologize. the weather kind of kept us from getting to the shot location, i really appreciate it.

you know, the big concern here is, what these guys need is, obviously a show of strength. that this culture. they sort of rely on that. they depend on that. and there is two sides to that coin. one, we have to show strength. we can't run away. we've done that in the past. beirut, somalia, after the black eye there in mogadishu. clinton pulled us out. that only emboldened the folks. flip side of that coin they have to show strength to stay in power. very clearly they are going to respond. there is going to be a response, mark esper my west point classmate said that in his interview. the question is, what do they do? they're chess players. they're not, i know, they're not solely self-destructive. they realize they can hit us, hurt us in a place. we have 800 bases all over the

world. those are all potential target but, they don't have the capacity to do much more than just a strike. melissa: sir, isn't it interesting to note though the first thing they're doing is going on tv. i mean if you look, they're doing interviews. they're going out, talking about all of the things that they're going to do as opposed to in the past, they were trying to see exactly how much they could get away with in terms of firing shots and throwing bombs. does that mean anything to you? >> well their rhetoric has been kill america for tens of years. i mean "death to america," "death to israel," is part of their mantra. that is nothing new. in fact the declaration from their parliament, all soldiers are terrorists, all u.s. soldiers are terrorists. they made that statement back in april. they just amended it to make the word as little different today. their rhetoric isn't bombs. but you're right, there has been a significant escalation.

it started with the drone attack. then the rocket attack that killed u.s. contractor. so there has been escalation. you know, president basically said, i'm done with this. he drew a line in the sand if any american dies, an american died, he responded. melissa: right. it is so easy to second-guess afterwards what should have been done differently. that is exactly what democrats and the president's detractors are doing. they're saying rather than taking out this person who, you know was their lead military commander, why didn't they take out troops in the field? that there were other things that could have been done that would have been better. how do you respond to that criticism? >> i think that's ridiculous. they're putting political talking points over our national security. i mean they're more concerned about, you know, doing anything they can to hurt donald trump than they are protecting soldiers in the field. this guy was a major planner. he was a, basically the director of all of their terrorist activities outside of iran.

multiple, multiple general officers in the united states military, retired officers, came out, said this was a bold, strategic, smart move from a military standpoint to take him out. they are severely -- there is an article out of the guardian it uk, not known to be supportive of president trump, basically said the disruptions in syria -- remember in syria, this guy killed hundreds of thousands of people. all of that has been completely disrupted with his death. this was a good thing to do. melissa: now in the meantime when i talk about what they're saying to the cameras, it is actually not the "death to america." what i mean is, their ambassadors who came out and done interviews on the bbc and elsewhere saying, oh, this isn't about americans of the we don't have anything against americans themselves. >> yeah. melissa: it is about your leader who is a terrorist. that is a change in tone. i mean -- >> you're right. melissa: tear talk is almost softer now in the wake of that attack. >> absolutely. i noticed that today too. if you look at just today,

starting with the funeral, rhetoric shifted to mostly talking about how our soldiers, you know, even their targets now are all about where the military in the region, u.s. military in the region. america get out of the region. so that is a big shift from their knee-jerk response immediately after his death. so i, i do sense that they're probably downplaying it with their rhetoric a little bit. i think that is a good sign. melissa: what do you make of the crowds and we came in with this story of, it is hard for americans to imagine this idea that you have thousands of people in the street. that you have more than 50 people who were trampled and killed. in the past few weeks we've been looking at crowds demonstrating against the government because they don't have essential human needs. now if you listen to, you know reporters on other stations they say everybody inside of iran is united against mesh. when you look at these crowds, do we have any idea what is going on there?

as a student of the area what is the best guess going on in these huge crowds? >> there is massive dissension inside iran. there has been an effort over the past 10 years to stomp that out. green resole -- revolt that happened a few years ago under ahmadinejad. farsi people, particularly younger iranians are very moderate. they are sick and tired of this government. it is just totalitarian. who knows what happened in those crowds today. it was his hometown. so i imagine a lot of people very pro soleimani but, it is also very possible that they went door-to-door and forced people into the streets to be a part of the demonstration. melissa: congressman mark green, i know it was hard to get to us. we appreciate you picking up the phone. thanks for coming on tonight. no, we loved having you, thank you. >> thank you. bye-bye. melissa: all right. liz claman standing by at ces where all of the action is.

liz, what's happening? >> well, a lot of course. this is day one of the world's biggest technology show on planet earth. a little bit of controversy, that i have got to tell you, involving ivanka trump that ended up being much ado about nothing. ivanka trump was invited a week or two ago, at least announced to be one of the many keynote speakers here. gary shapiro, the head of the technological association, cta, invited her as he often does with every administration. suddenly there was a outcry and glacial chill falls over what is she doing here? what does she know about technology? she actually has been pushing for technological literacy for our k-12 and for workers who have been left behind in the old manufacturing jobs. here is a little bit of what she said at a sold out ballroom venetian hotel speech just an hour or two ago. >> many of the industryies

support cybersecurity jobs. not all of them require a bachelor's degree. you mentioned, barry, the importance of defining work based on skis, rather than credentials, it is incredibly important and require as major shift in our thinking. liz: as it turns out there was polite applause, melissa. apparently no protests not we heard about so far. but the complaint was there are not enough women in tech. the women who are in tech would be better, more appropriate to be speaking here. okay. but then why is there no outcry about actress mandy moore, who is one of the speakers here? a little hypocritical, but in the end this is pretty conserve tough show. very pro-business. gary shapiro says i'm not a democrat. i'm not a republican. even said he voted for hillary clinton yet he was one who invited her because he has seen her have the platform. melissa: she does a lot of great

work connecting the future of work with the generation that we have in school right now, especially going all the way down to middle school. connecting businesses, that need workers with the talent that's out there. i mean we have empty jobs. we need to figure out how to educate people for it. it is better that companies get in the mix, private business, rather than leaving it all to government because they always fall far behind. liz, great coverage. i love everything you've done today. so many great things. the flying car, all of the cutting-edge news. you are fantastic. we will be sure to catch liz tomorrow. you have day two of your special coverage. i want to give you some of these guests. they're incredible. the ceo of delta air lines. you also have the ceo of discovery communications. and all of the gadgets and robots and everything else futuristic that your kids and husband will be begging for. liz, thank you. to the markets, stock down across the board. gerri willis more from the new york stock exchange.

gerri? >> melissa, markets closing lower tonight as investors continue to weigh trouble in the middle east, the killing of one of iran's top military generals. all 11 s&p sectors were lower today. the dow closing close to session lows, down 119 point. the nasdaq in the red as well. couldn't quite hold on to gains throughout the session, closing down three points. despite strong performance from chip stocks especially micron and western digital. upgrade from the key analysts. they saw gains of 8% in those two shares. analysts turning bullish on growth in 2020 in that sector. another tech group doing well. google, facebook, apple, hitting fresh intraday highs. apple of course over $300. that milestone, as investors grapple for growth. melissa, back to you. melissa: gerri, thank you for that. coming up, latest on the massive wildfires burning huge paths of death and destruction across

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♪. melissa: to those fierce australian wildfires that killed 25 people, the race to open roads and evacuate more territory. officials warn they are expecting hazardous conditions to return later in the week. fox news's jeff paul is on the ground in australia. jeff? reporter: firefighters in australia are getting some help from mother nature on tuesday. cooler weather and some isolated rainshowers helping crews shore up the containment lines on hundreds of fires still burning in new south wales. the fires have killed more than two disease disease people and burned through an area twice the size of maryland. the bush fires done major damage to the country's wildlife, including millions of animals including koalas and kangaroos. >> there was so much smoke and

fire. [crying] i didn't think there would be any alive. reporter: we're getting a better sense of the financial cost from these fires. insurance officials say losses have more than doubled in the past two days to nearly half a billion dollars. they're expecting that number to keep going up as they assess losses to businesses and their employees. >> to those people who may not have lost their homes but don't have a place to turn up for work today, they're not sure how the next paycheck is going to arrive, the cost of this is unprecedented. reporter: meanwhile thousands remain evacuated as crews to save homes near the front lines. they say they're making progress but there are still communities in danger. >> really is about shoring up protection to limit the damage potential and the outbreak of those fires over the coming days. reporter: on tuesday's australia's prime minister thanked president trump's support. the president responding in a tweet, we love australia.

in australia. jeff paul, fox news. melissa: thank you for that. latest development on former nissan ceo carlos ghosn is who fled japan, hiding out in lebanon. there is now an arrest warrant for his wife. kristina partsinevelos has nor. reporter: saga of the former nissan ceo continues prosecutors have issued a arrest warrant for carlos ghosn's wife. this comes a week after ghosn himself jumped bail and fled to lebanon in a hollywood-style escape. carol ghosn is under prosecution for perjury. they said she gave false testimony from transfer of nissan to another money. she claimed she denied knowing various people involved. more details emerging about carlos ghosn escape to lebanon despite 24 hours surveilance. he left took a bullet train to

osaka. he slipped past airport security by stuffing his body into a case meant for audio equipment. it was reportedly too big for the x-ray machine, allowing him to go undetected. he is now in lebanon. according to the associated press, the conviction rate in japan exceeds 99%. ghosn's charges of financial wrongdoing carry a, maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. he maintained his innocence an plans to hold a press conference on wednesday. melissa? melissa: kristina, thank you for that. we want to take you to some breaking news that we have right now. this is coming from a senior u.s. military source who is in iraq. the source is telling us that iraq is under miss till attack from iran -- missile attack from iran. they are cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles. the source is saying that this attack is happening all over the country right now. on the phone right now we have

colonel david hunt joining us. you're hearing this news as we are, colonel. what do you make of it? >> i would love to get it confirmed. people, from people in iraq but iran borders on iraq. they have 20 or 30 places they can launch from iran into iraq. they have a cruise missile-like thing, device. they also have rockets and also have artillery. all could be reached from iran. it is, my issue with this, sounds a bit fanciful saying all over the country. if he is going to do this, there is an airbase, it is small but, these would be targeted, not all spread all over iraq. iraq of course is very friendly. it is a satellite actually of iran. if iranians would want to

minimize damage all over the country and just focus on u.s. bases, we've got 5,000 guys there. a lot concentrated on an airbase northeast iraq. so, this thing has to get refined. it doesn't, it is not surprise that iran has the capability. if there is, if, there is problem with this. if this is true, or even part of it is true, iran launched missiles against u.s., our response is going to be geometrically larger. now you're into a shooting war. melissa: well, we don't know, i mean, again, you know, this is a report that has been confirmed by fox news but we don't know the breadth or scope or any of it. so we don't want to panic anyone or make assumptions or anything of the kind. of course we expected retaliation. in fact iran has promised that.

do you think, would it make logical sense if they targeted the u.s. air base, in that you said, you know, this is a friendly country to iran? it is expensive airbase. it is something that whoever remains would want to have. what are your thoughts? >> yeah. these would be, iran has, capability to be very specific in their targeting. for example, it could target a cruise-like missile. you can fly that into a garage door. it would be, my, opinion, again, as you already said, everyone is dealing with this, a only a couple of sources. melissa: reuters is reporting now it is al-asad airbase. >> there you go. that's the one. that is the one i was describing. al-asad airbase, majority of our forces. very expensive base. it is, houses a lot of air force and army people. a lot of, the point is that

would be terrible but that makes sense, if you're iran, to do that. the issue now is, what are we going to do? here we go with eye for an eye. soleimani was the right thing to do but it was always going to be problematic because of his popularity in iran. and iran has the ability to hit back as they, we think they may have just done. there are other ways they can do this. this will be, it is terrible, always a loss of life, but now the u.s. is going to, if this is all true, they better figure out what we'll respond and how. melissa: based on your military experience do you think we would have taken people out of that base, knowing it was such an obvious target? >> we would have been advised of the -- footprint, it is an active place. also would have anti-missile

capability. it is all conjecture until we confirm this, that they wouldn't abandon that base with only couple days, no. it is, it is our primary base in iraq. so we would take, for example, civilians would be taken out, taken away, go home. we probably bring in aircraft inside of our bunkers, type of thing. we wouldn't abandon it. -- [inaudible]. melissa: forgive me for not being more educated on this, when you talk about what kind of defensive shield would it have, i mean we all picture, you know, israel and the iron dome. what kind of defensive kayability would the base have? >> it would not have that capability. they would not, they would have some anti-missile capability. issue is early warning issue. satellite. how much time they actually had. iranians -- 10 to 15 miles

across the border. that is a very fast missile, even if we spotted it, there is not much you can do. the answer is directly, that we don't have iron dome concept you're describing that israel has at the airbase. melissa: what, what would you imagine would be a response to this from the u.s. side? obviously that is what everyone is going to ask, now what? what comes after this, if it is true? >> if it is, what i hope happens, is that, you don't need to go into shooting war with iran or anyone, certainly not with iran. you can put a naval blockade of straits of hormuz, it would crush iranian economy already on its knees because of the embargo. the problem with eye for an eye, if we do something back at them physically, a missile, shoot at them, then iranians -- [inaudible]. one side or the other has to stop. if not, again we're in the

middle of a shooting war with iran after almost 19 years of war with the war on terror. we can hurt iran without, without shooting them. period. we can really put a, give them problems, we can bring them down to their knees without firing a shot. i don't know what the administration would do. there is a lot of talk. a lot of yelling. with restraint we could hurt iran. melissa: even after all this happened you're saying there could be that kind of a, i mean, there could be that much of a stranglehold even without military action in the wake of everything that happened now? >> i'm sorry, stranglehold by whom? melissa: if you say we can bring iran to its knees without firing a shot, how would that work? >> naval blockade. the embargo we put on iran since

we pulled out of the treaty made the economy down to the size of romania. it is in jeopardy. you put a u.s. naval blockade strait of hormuz, that would do it. we already hurt their economy terribly with the embargo. my point is, we want to get into this tit-for-tat shooting war, with iran, background of this, we have like 60,000 soldiers, airmen, et cetera, deployed within range of iran right now. different countries, kuwait, et cetera. emirates. we can't protect every aspect the u.s. has but i also think, if you're going to respond, my hope is, that we do it smart and still affective. melissa: okay. >> throwing missiles back and forth, something goes bad, you're exploded.

it's worrisome and dangerous and i am hoping calm heads -- will win out. melissa: colonel hunt. thank you so much for jumping on the phone. as we reported fox news confirmed that rockets have been fired at the al-asad airbase in iraq that hosts u.s. forces. we don't know anything about damage or casualties, who was there. anything more about the rockets. we know the value. futures have sunk 140 points. senior u.s. military source in iraq saying iraq is under missile attack from iran. these are cruise or short-range missiles. we'll have much more on the breaking story right after the break. i'm your mother in law.

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melissa: more on breaking news coming out of iraq. fox news's benjamin hall is in amman, jordan, with more.

benjamin, we have initial report that iraq is under missile attack from iran. they are cruise or short-range ballistic missiles. this is from a u.s. military source. it is saying it i all over the country. what are you hearing? >> yeah, that's right. this news breaking about 20 minutes ago. we still are trying to confirm, the scale of it. the one confirmed target has been the al-asad base in the west of iraq. it is the second largest u.s. military base in the country, and six rockets i believe have landed there. we don't know if they are crews missiles, smart range ballistic missiles. according to the u.s. official come out of iraq. hezbollah linked twitter pages are claiming the revenge has begun. those are details we have for the moment. this sell having at the moment. we're still confirming extend of this attack. six rockets inside of the alas saud airbase in the west. we've been waiting sometime to see how iran might respond. there have been a few smaller

rocket attacks in the last few days at other bases but nothing like this, nothing out of iran. it would be significant if projectiles were fired from iran into iraq, striking u.s. bases. so we're waiting to confirm more about that. today, in iran, we saw the parliament classify the attack against qassem soleimani as terrorist attack and act of war. they classified the u.s. military as a terror entity. the foreign minister spoke out earlier as well, talking about the u.s. and their role. have a listen. sorry. we don't seem to have that sound right now. as he said he felt it was an act of war against them. that revenge would come. indeed we have heard a variety of options in terms of their retaliation. iraq suggested everything from attacking u.s. bases like we may be seeing now.

they talked about attacking ships in the persian gulf. talked about attacking saudi arabia an israel. everyone is on tenterhooks in the middle east saying how they might respond. certainly made clear by iranians it would be a military strike. it would be against u.s. military targets, whether that is what we're seeing at moment, certainly a major escalation if indeed this is iran firing into, into iraq at a u.s. base. back to you. melissa: if i can interrupt you for a second. this is coming out of the ap in tehran. they're saying that iran state tv is saying that iran launches 10 of surface-to-surface missiles in, at iraq's iral-assad airbase. 10 sir fast to air missiles is that what you're saying? >> there are conflict the reports. we know six landed inside of the base. we heard reports up 35 u.s.

official said they were fired all over the country this is breaking development. we don't have the full details. certainly iranians as you point out saying revenge attack has started. i think we have to wait in coming minutes, hours, what extent they retaliate. melissa: benjamin hall thank you for that report. lou dobbs is on deck coming up with the program right after this. no doubt you're monitoring that developing story as well,,. >> absolutely, melissa. as we're learning in the early moments what is happening at the al asad base where u.s. forces have significant presence, a report as many as six missiles struck the base is obviously, deeply, deeply, troubling and worryisome. we don't have reports of casualties or indeed of any target that was struck within

the base. but it is fairly clear that the iranians have taken steps here to begin their so-called retaliation, which by the way was promised by the ayatollah. uniquely, promising that it would be a direct retaliation by iranian forces, not proxies but directly. it appears, at least, in early moments that has begun with selection of the base at al-asad a joint base with u.s. forces there, as the target. what we know beyond that is limited to say the very least. obviously we're all watching on, and waiting on tenterhooks to see what has transpired. melissa: lou dobbs. thank you so much. i know you have to get ready for your own show to monitor the news for yourself. we'll let you get on with that. thank you for joining us. >> you bet, melissa. thank you. melissa: go to congressman tom

reed from new york, who is joining us from the rotunda. sir, if i can get your reaction to the news. once against for viewers that are joining us, coming from a u.s. military source, a senior source that iraq is under missile attack from iran, either cruise missiles or short-range missiles. our jennifer griffin report that they are fired from iranian territory, multiple bases including the al-asad airbase in anbar. what are your thoughts about that. our prayers extend to american and american women. this is not unexpected, iranians warning about a response to the killing of soleimani. we'll have to see where this goes. i urge folks, i urge my colleagues to take a moment, remain calm. let's see how this unfolds.

as lou dobbs indicated, the details are going to matter here as we go through this fog of war moment in real time. melissa: you mentioned that we had been expecting a response from iran. this was a logical target, even though obviously it's a very big one. do you have any information as to whether we had evacuated personnel from there or what kind of defense is in place? >> i don't have any real time information along those lines. other than to know our men and women are trained to respond to this we will make sure that they are always given resources to protect themselves and defend themselves. we'll see where this goes. in this moment in time, you know, this is something, that we should have expected and we are going to see this through. but at end of the day, iran needs to be sent a message today. iran needs to hear this message loud and clear from me as elected official here in the u.s. house of representatives, attacking american citizens is something they should think hard about, doing this and killing

american citizens will have consequences as we demonstrated our resolve before. melissa: do you have confidence in the administration to deal with this? a lot have cast plenty of aspersions and doubt on the president in handling a situation this serious? >> i do. i respect the president's decision to kill soleimani and i appreciate that decision. i think that was the right call. and, as the men and women in the pentagon and others in white house now are dealing with this situation, i have a a 1% confidence in our commander-in-chief in the white house and people that are there. they are experts in the field. they will respond to this appropriately. melissa: congressman tom reed, thanks for joining us. thanks for jumping on the topic. we know you were supposed to talk about something else. we appreciate you pivoting to this, we are looking for more information at this time. staying connected. thank you. >> appreciate it being here. melissa: veterans affairs department says it is making

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melissa: we are back right now with this breaking news that we are getting out of the middle east. there are confirmed by fox news reports of missiles being fired on iraq from across the iranian border right now. i want to bring in james carafano. lieutenant colonel james carafano. i hope i got your title right, sir. let me ask you for your take on this. our latest reports, from our reporter that is out in the field is that six missiles have landed. the ap out of iran is reporting, you know, again coming from inside of iran, so it can be propaganda, they were saying tens of surface-to-surface missiles being lobbed at the air force base where the american

troops are. what is your take on this? >> well, first thing, that the u.s. will want to do is confirm it, missiles were actually fired from iranian territory. that would be a real prove vision. ir-- [inaudible]. you remember they fired a bunch of missiles and drones at oil infrastructure in saudi arabia but that was not aimed at americans. this target is aimed at americans, if it did come from iranian soil it would be escalatory provocation. melissa: this is tweet two the irgc. it says brave soldiers of irgc aerospace unit launched a successful attack with tens of ballistic missiles on al-asad base in name of martyr of qassem soleimani. i don't know we take their twitter word for it but your thoughts. >> i think i probably would. these kind of missiles are actually notoriously not

incredibly accurate. the fact they fired them in the direction of the base doesn't tell them what they actually hit. they don't have pinpoint accuracy. they could have landed in the desert. the next thing you want to wait for a battle damage assessment, what did these things actually do. that would make a, could make a difference in terms of what the u.s. response is. if they actually managed to kill americans, right, that i think would be a real issue for the administration. that seems to be a headline for the president, if you kill americans we will not tolerate that. if they fired them and landed in the desert or did some unspecified damage, that might free up the united states to think about how might want to respond to that future. i'm sure the u.s. would but u.s. doesn't always respond tit-for-tat. you remember when they shot down the drone, we did cyberattacks. we cut off the oil they were smuggling to libya but we didn't actually do a military response, so, i don't think that, that we

wake up tomorrow morning b-52s would essentially be dropping bombs on iran. i don't know what military option they my take. it might not be right away. melissa: yeah. and you're talking about all this hinges on the loss of american lives or not. we dope have any information on that right now. as you mentioned, we want to stress to our viewers, we don't know if any rockets that landed if they landed on the base. if there are casualties, what the damage is. >> right. melissa: all we know at this point is, lots of reports of missiles fired. they have been confirmed by fox news at this point. we also know that dow futures at this point are sinking. we're obviously a business channel so we want to bring that into the mix. and, so, let me ask you, you know, we had another expert on talking about a non-military response to this, not more firing, idea of blockading iran and really, you know, issuing a

stranglehold at that point that wouldn't involve more missiles and more bombs at this point. does that seem like something possible. is that too small after response? >> i would not discount u.s. might do options other than a direct kinetic response or immediate direct response. i think it will make a difference if there are american casualties. if there are not american casualties the u.s. might well do something else. this administration has a pretty good track record of proportionality. it is not that they would do something incredibly ridiculous. they might attack facility where missiles launched from. in terms of a military response, that you might see. u.s. not of course taken by surprise, because -- in the region planning for these kind of contingencies.

again i think -- what the people in the pentagon are doing to wait to sort things out before they decide the next step is. melissa: okay. we want to thank you so much for jumping on quickly, i want to let our viewers know that the bug on the screen is not accurate. they are sinking down the futures. they are down 260 points. we will take a quick break. when we come back we are going to have, robert wilkie u.s. secretary of veterans affairs, talking to us with more reaction with more breaking news. we'll be right back.

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melissa: joining me is robert wilke. and former be assistant secretary of defense and colonel in the air force reserve. tell me what you were saying in the break about this breaking news we have of missiles flying over the border frerd iran into iraq. >> i have completes confidence in our leadership in the white house with president trump and the secretary of defense and secretary of state. when i was a youngster 40 years ago, my father was senior officer when the hostages were taken in the carter administration. we did nothing. my memory is when we left forward brag to go to our high schools and junior high schools.

we were forced to look at billboards saying iran, let our people go. the death of the returnian general was one that was welcome by the world. he not only had the blood of hundreds of americans on his hands. but thousands of muslims. in the streets of iran. melissa: as missiles are flying people are saying the president was reckless. >> with the united states they declared this man to be an outlaw. he was refused entry into differentr different countries in the world under u.n. sanctions. we were confident our intelligence told us attacks were imminent. >> i would be reckless to even speculate. i have been doing veterans

affairs. the original question about the death of soleimani is one we took with complete regard for what he was up to, what he was planning. i think it was certainly the right thing to do and long overdue. melissa: we were talking about the type of missiles that would be coming over the border. >> i think jim carafano, your previous guest was right. they just launch them and most of the time they miss. i don't know that and i don't know any of the intelligence. there will be battle damage assessment rapidly i'm sure. the administration will respond appropriately. melissa: there are a lot of troops moving to the region right now. >> i was in north carolina in my home over christmas. the 82nd airborne division

paratroopers were moving and i think appropriate. melissa: you were here to talk about va issues. we'll do that next time. we thank you for pivoting to the breaking news. here is lou. [♪] lou: good evening, everybody. we have breaking news tonight. iran has retaliated and in that retaliation has struck at a base, a joint base, iraqi base al-asaad in western iraq, 112 miles west of baghdad. reports are at 6 iranian missiles have hit the base. there are no reports at this hour of either injuries or damage to the base. but six missiles as they are described, not rockets or